Would you replace your seats after this crash?

On the weekend we were in an accident. The traffic stopped on the freeway, we stopped, the car behind didn't and hit us quite hard and pushed us into a trailer in front. There is barely any damage to the front of the car, the rear bumper is trashed, the back door (Liberty Wagon) is bent but still closes. Apart from some aches and pains from whiplash we are all fine. DS (4) and DD(7) were in Hiliners, DS (9) just uses the regular seatbelt.

I've always thought you should replace all seats after an accident, after reading the kidsafe website though I'm not sure

The kidsafe recommendation is

QUOTE

If a child car restraint has been involved in a severe crash where the main body structure of the car is damaged. The child restraint should be destroyed even if there is no obvious damage and the child wasn’t using the restraint at the time.

I wouldn't call our accident a severe crash so I'm not sure if we should be replacing the seats, I've been trying to get onto Kidsafe to ask this morning. So, what do you think?

I would err on the side of caution and replace them. I was told that it causes more stress on the chairs if there are children sitting in them at time of impact - I can't remember exactly why now.

I fought my insurance company to replace a chair when my child wasn't sitting in it but it was a bad rear end in a hatch where the anchor point was at the back of the hatch so really stretched the straps. Also had glass on the chair. The assessor said no but the baby seat section (same company) said for sure and within 10 minutes I had a manager ring me to confirm replacement.

I was rear ended not even that hard (not into a car in front, and only a numberplate imprint on the back bumper) and the insurance company stole my seat (and didnt bopther to tell me, lucky I had a spare! whole new vent), as they couldnt tell if it was damaged or not.

The insurance company will reimburse you to replace them, apparently its now part of the underwriting, and you will feel better knowing the new ones have not been in an accident

We had a much lesser crash than you (mini van merged in to my front side) and had the car seat replaced. It was covered by insurance.

You cannot always see if the seat has been compromised. I would do it purely for peace of mind, it not anything else.

*with my insurance I had to take a photo of the damaged seat with the straps cut so it cannot be re used and a copy of the receipt for the new seat. They sent me a cheque within days of getting those things.

Definitely. Even if you can't see any damage, there might be micro fractures of the body of the seat. If you have another accident, the seat can break in half and throw your baby out. I'd be pushing for it, if the insurance company says no, contact the manufacturer and ask them. They will most likely say yes, then use this with the insurer. If it is a safe and sound car seat, they will replace it free of charge.

This is why you never buy a second hand car seat without intimately knowing its history.

Our insurance company covered the cost of DS's car seat after DH was in an accident. It didn't look damaged in the slightest. We were told to email a photo of the anchor strap after it had been cut through (as requested), or surrender it at one of their offices. And also a copy of the receipt of the new car seat.

The car was a write off though.

Personally, I wouldn't risk it. My children are worth way more than the cost of a car seat.

DS now has a special seat to sit in when at Nanny's house. He loves it!!!

I recently had an accident and my DS(2) was in the car. He has a Safe n Sound maxi. I called the manufacturer and they said if the accident involved speeds over 40km/hr then to replace the carseat as they can't guarantee there is no damage. Our insurance covered up to $500 to replace the car seat.

If I was in your situation I would definitley replace them as there sounds like a bit of force involved in the accident.

I finally got on to Kidsafe, and they agree with you all, that if it is anything more than a carpark bingle that the seats should be replaced.

DH will have to chase the insurance company. It was in his company car so it's all complicated by having to deal through the fleet company, they weren't sure if seats were covered, however, surely seeing as they will most likely be recouping costs from the driver of the other vehicle's insurance company they will cover it. Technically DD could go without a seat, she is 7 and probably pretty close to the 32kg weight limit of her Hiliner. I've done such a good job of convincing her that you have to be OVER 7 to move out of a seat though so I'm hoping the new seats now have a higher weight limit.

Sns HiLiner is sold in the US as the britax parkway... A seat to approx 50kgs.

2010 standard seats have no weight limit (although tested with 32kg test dummies). Remember booster seats are more about seatbelt positioning and providing some head protection and relying on the adult seatbelt to restrain the child.

Thanks for the info IsolaBella, I thought you could go over the 32kg but as ours are about 4years old they came with the 32kg limit and I wasn't sure what was recommended now but as DD sits well in it and the seatbelt fits well I'd decided she was staying in it. Apparently I'm the only mean mum at school (I know that's not really the case - just her perspective!)

For now DH has put DS back in his 5pt harness seats in both cars - a Royale or a Guardian, he is just over the weight limit (18.8kg) and is getting tall so I'm not really happy about it. Hopefully we can change that quickly.

I have to see I'm very happy with how the seats performed. Even though DH and I were in seatbelts and had the headrests properly adjusted we have sore necks. The kids were all fine. Youngest DS appeared to move more than the others, so I think I'll get rid of his H harness as I don't think it stays high enough on his shoulders. He had only been in the Hiliner for a month.

I recently had my DS's seat replaced after a fairly minor accident where there was no evident damage to the seat. If your insurance is not keen to replace, I was able to get an email outlining their recommendation that it should be from kidsafe as well as use the disclaimer in the seat manual which recommends replacement. It was a safe'n'sound seat, so also britax. The kidsafe lady pointed it out to me which was helpful.

In the end my insurer (nrma) had no issue but I was glad to be prepared. They said I was not able to buy "up" in quality, and had to replace like with like, so couldn't have bought a booster when his seat was a convertible. I also had up to $500 to spend.

No I would not be using a H harness with booster - read sticky at top of forum.

My 117cm 7 yo actually fits height wise in the new sns compaq. I have my 5.5yo in it currently. If you are considering putting your 4 yo back in 5 pt harness I would check out the new sns maxi rider T&A. It is a slimmer seat and looks better to use as a booster when the time comes.

We've just bought 2 new Hiliners, we're still not certain that the insurance are going to pay - initially they said they would, then they came back to us and said we needed to send them photos of the damage, the original receipts for purchase etc etc. There is no visible damage, but the recommendation is that they be replaced so we've done it and we'll fight them! Meantime though, the kids have new seats, and they were on sale too so not quite as painful on the credit card as expected.